Inspiration

​Always tell the truth “One night four college kids stayed out late, partying and having a good time. They paid no mind to the test they had scheduled for the next day and didn’t study. In the morning, they hatched a plan to get out of taking their test. They covered themselves with grease and dirt and went to the Dean’s office. Once there, they said they had been to a wedding the previous night and on the way back they got a flat tire and had to push the car back to campus. The Dean listened to their tale of woe and thought. He offered them a retest three days later. They thanked him and accepted his offer that time. When the test day arrived, they went to the Dean. The Dean put them all in separate rooms for the test. They were fine with this since they had all studied hard. Then they saw the test. It had 2 questions. 1) Your Name (1 Points) 2) Which tire burst? (99 Points) Inspiration

​Love matters more than material items “Some time ago, a man punished his young daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became angry when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the girl brought the gift to her father on Christmas day and said, ‘This is for you, daddy.’ The man became embarrassed by his overreaction a few days before, but his rage continued when he saw that the box was empty. He yelled at her, ‘Don’t you know, when you give someone a gift, there’s supposed to be something inside?’ The little girl looked up at her dad with tears in her eyes and cried; ‘Oh, daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, daddy.’ The father was devastated. He put his arms around his daughter, and begged for her forgiveness. A little while later, the girl died in an accident. Her father kept the gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was feeling down, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.” Inspiration

​You are not going to get anything handed to you “A man walked to the top of a hill to talk to God. The man asked, ‘God, what’s a million years to you?’ and God said, ‘A minute.’ Then the man asked, ‘Well, what’s a million dollars to you?’ and God said, ‘A penny.’ Then the man asked, ‘God…..can I have a penny?’ and God said, ‘Sure… in a minute.’ Inspiration

Black and white graffiti by Nature in Iceland🇮🇸 Inspiration

​Your good deeds could change the world “Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her. This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush. ‘Hello,’ I said. ‘I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.’ She smiled. ‘I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.’ ‘Wow! That’s really nice of you!’ I exclaimed. She went on: ‘I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It’s my own strange way of making a difference.’ ‘But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?’ I asked. ‘Yep, sadly, they do,’ she replied. I scratched my head. ‘Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world. And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?’ The woman giggled aloud. She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, ‘Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world. Inspiration

“My poor Niagara …” That is what Eleonor Roosevelt said when she saw Iguazu Falls. Iguazu Falls's National Park between Argentina and Brasil. Foz de Iguazu (Brazil) and Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) Inspiration

​Stop stressing so much “Once upon a time a psychology professor walked around on a stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with students. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the typical ‘glass half empty or glass half full’ question. Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, ‘How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?’ Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple pounds. She replied, ‘From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t matter. It all depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.’ As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued, ‘Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed – incapable of doing anything else until you drop them. Inspiration

​You get what you give “Once, there was a farmer who regularly sold butter to a baker. One day, the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the exact amount that he asked for. He found out that he wasn’t, so he took the farmer to court. The judge asked the farmer if he uses any measure to weigh the butter. The farmer replied, ‘Your Honor, I’m primitive. I don’t have a proper measure, but I do have a scale.’ The judge replied, “Then how do you weigh the butter?” The farmer replied; “Your Honor, long before the baker started buying butter from me, I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every day, when the baker brings the bread, I put it on the scale and give him the same weight in butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it’s the baker.’ Moral of the story:In life, you get what you give. Don’t try to cheat others. Inspiration